Postsurgical follow-up study of patients with severe polypoid degeneration.

This report summarizes our experiences with 23 women whose bilateral severe polypoid degeneration was managed surgically and who have been followed over a 2- to 7-year postoperative period. In our study group, polypoid degeneration did not reappear if the patient stopped smoking and practiced healthy vocal hygiene. About 25% of those who continued to smoke after surgery evidenced return of the disease, usually within 2 to 3 years. Reappearance of polypoid degeneration appeared most strongly related to the smoking variable alone or in combination with vocal abuse and/or medications that can cause edema. Neither vocal abuse nor medications appeared to be primary causal factors. The return of polypoid degeneration, in its earliest stages, was detected first via laryngeal examination.